As Nigerian banks embrace Artificial Intelligence (AI) to modernize financial services, industry experts are urging them to uphold trust and integrity in the process.
This was the key message at the 4th Stakeholders’ Conference organized by the Association of Corporate Affairs Managers of Banks (ACAMB), which took place on Thursday in Lagos.
With the theme “AI and the Future of Trust: Reimagining Banking and Financial Services in a Digital-First Era,” the event gathered voices from the banking, technology, and communications sectors to discuss how AI is reshaping the industry, and the importance of integrating ethical standards into its use.
According to experts at the conference, AI has already improved banking through faster transactions, more advanced fraud detection, and greater financial inclusion.
But its rise also brings serious concerns about data privacy, biased algorithms, and a possible decline in public confidence.
According to Nairametrics, ACAMB President Rasheed Bolarinwa described the current moment as a critical juncture for the industry, where the use of technology must go hand-in-hand with transparency and responsibility.
“Trust must not only be preserved, it must be enhanced by the very technologies we are adopting. As AI transforms how we serve customers, stakeholder collaboration is crucial to ensure this transformation is ethical, inclusive, and responsible,” he said.
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Supporting this, President of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), Prof. Pius Olanrewaju, stressed that the banking sector cannot function without public confidence.
Represented by the CIBN Registrar, Akin Morakinyo, he said, “Every industrial revolution has been driven by general-purpose technology. Today, AI is that driver. But if we adopt it without integrity and transparency, we risk losing the very foundation of banking.”
In his keynote address, Niyi Yusuf, Managing Partner at Verraki Africa and Chairman of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), traced AI’s journey from a theoretical idea in the 1950s to today’s advanced deep-learning models.
He cautioned against the direct application of foreign-built AI tools in Nigeria without making necessary local adaptations.
“We need AI algorithms tailored for Africa, our culture, languages, financial behaviours. Otherwise, we risk deploying systems that alienate customers instead of empowering them,” Yusuf warned.
He also underlined the importance of keeping “humans in the loop” to ensure that AI systems in banking balance automation with human judgment, empathy, and fairness.
During a panel discussion, industry executives such as Polaris Bank’s Chief Digital Officer, Dele Adeyinka; VFD MFB’s Yonodu Okeugo; and FirstBank’s Chief Information Security Officer, Dr. Harrison Nnaji, echoed the call for greater transparency, customer awareness, and stronger governance in AI-driven banking.
They acknowledged that Nigerian banks are already using AI tools, from facial recognition during digital onboarding to fraud detection technologies, putting the country at the forefront of AI adoption in Africa.
However, they agreed that as these technologies evolve, the measures in place to protect customers must evolve too.
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Image Credit: Google
